Crime & Safety

Karen Community Honors Roseville Police Department

Roseville Police one of 10 groups recognized for assisting immigrant group.

The Karen Organization of Minnesota (KOM) last weekend honored the  Roseville Police Department for its positive work with the ethnic community over the past several years. 

Roseville Police Chief Rick Mathwig accepted the honor on behalf of the department. The awards ceremony was held on the same day the Karen community celebrated its New Year.

Besides Roseville PD, nine other local agenices were honored by KOM for helping the immigranrts settle into the community. They were: the Roseville Area Schools, St. Paul Police, St. Paul Public Schools, World Relief Minnesota, Minnesota Council of Churches, Catholic Charities, Lutheran Social Services, International Institute of Minnesota and HealthEast Clinic.

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In a news statement, Roseville city officials said their community has organized several programs and activities to welcome Karen immigrants. Those include, among other things, holding community dialogues, building a new soccer field, donating soccer equipment and hosting lemonade stands.
The Karen (pronounced Ka-REN) are refugees, fleeing religious and ethnic persecution from the country of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. About  7,200 Karen live in the Twin Cities metro area, with the biggest concentration in the East Metro area, the city said.
 
On its website, the Karen Organization said, "The Karen are an ethnic group from the mountainous border regions of Burma and Thailand, where they are the second largest ethnic group in each country."


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